brock



'2 Sheets- Sheet 1. W. H.. BROOK. Sheet-Metal Gan Machine.

(No Model.)

Patented July 27, 1880.

N-RETERS. FNOTG-UTHOSRAFHEE WASIINGYON. D I) (No Model.) Z-Sheets-Sheet 2.

' WLH Q-BROGK. Sheet-Metal Can Machine.

No. 230,465. Pat ent-ed m 27, 1880.

I PUEWS, FHDTC UTHOGRAPHEE. WESHING'YCN, I]. C.

UNITED STATES I PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM H. BROOK, OF CORONA, ASSIGNOR T JABEZ A. BOSTWIOK, OF

- NEW YORK, N; Y.

SHEET-METAL-CAN MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 230,465, dated July 27, 1880.

Application filed J une 7. 1880. (No model.) I

To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. BROGK, of Corona, in the county of Queens and State of New York, have invented an Improvement in Sheet-Metal-Oan Machinery, of which the following is a specification.

Sheet-metal cans of cubical form with rounded angles have been made; but difficulty has arisen in closing the folded edges of the sheetmetal ends around the sheet-metal body. My present invention is for accomplishing this object without the risk of injury to the sheet metal, and without leaving any seam or inequality at the places where the dies open and close.

The body of the can and the ends are made in the usual manner-that is to say, the sheet of metal forming the body is shaped upon a proper form and the ends united by a suita- 2o ble folded seam. The top and bottom, forming the ends of the can, are out out of sheet metal pressed up in dies, so as to fold the edges double in a U form to receive the ends of the body, and my improvement comes into action to close the U-bend in the metal firmly upon the metal of the body previous to soldering.

This improvement is especially adapted to cans that have polygonal ends with the corners rounded; but the same might be used with oval, circular, or other forms of cans.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan of the dies and actuating devices. Fig. 2 is a separate view of the dies, with two pairs closed upon the can. Fig. 3 is a vertical section at the line as x; and Fig. 4 is a detached view, showing one set of instrumentalities that are connected and operate together.

There are four sets of devices, such as are shown in Fig. 4. I will describe that one set,

0 and then show how the sets operate together.

The die a is a square plate, except one angle, which is rounded. For convenience the portion 1 1 is thicker than the rest, as seen in Fig. 3, and its vertical outer edges form the 5 operative faces. This die measures slightly less than half the distance across from one side to the other within the folded U-shaped edge of the sheet-metal head I). This die a is bolted to the bar d, and two of said bars,

d d, are shaped as seen in Fig. 4, and the other two bars, 0 c, are forked, as seen in dotted lines in Fig. 1, so that the bars d d of one set of dies are within the fork-bars c c of the opposite set of dies; and I also here remark that the bars d c of two of the sets of dies cross above the bars d c of the other two sets of dies, as seen in the section, Fig. 3, the said bars being made half the thickness at the places where they cross each other, and the thinner portions are of sufficient length to al- 66 low of the movements endwise of the respective parts.

The die is of a shape to correspond to the outside of the U -shaped folded edge, and rather longer than half the measurement from 6 5 one side of the can to the other. This die is provided with projecting jaws g, and anti-friction rollers h, by preference, are also used.

The bars (1 d c a pass into the lower part of the dies f f f f but they are not rigidly con- 70 nected, and the dies f f f f to slide upon the bars d d c 0 until they come into contact with the stop-pins ]L2, and then the two parts move together. This allows two of the dies, f f, to be moved back by the action of the inclined ends of the other two dies, f f or the reverse, as the dies are opened for receiving or delivering the can, as hereinafter explained.

There is a suitable frame-work or bed-plate carrying the parts and provided with boxes for the four shafts k l m a, that are geared together soas to revolve at the same speed, and upon these shafts are cams 0 o and p 19. These cams are but slight, as the movement of the parts is small. The cam-shapes are shown by dotted lines in Fig. 3.

The cams 0 o operate together at opposite sides to move the pairs of dies ff in the sections A and B at the same time, and in so doing the sheet metal at opposite sides is firmly 9o pressed, the die a in section A operating within the die f in section B, and the die a in section B operating within the die f in section A, and closing the folded seam at those places. The dies f f in sections 0 and Dare 5 free at this time, and they open slightly by the inclined ends of f f pressing against the corresponding inclined ends of f f The pairs of dies f f of sections 0 D are now brought up and finish the closing operation by 15 slight extent, upon the dies ff.

pressing upon the parts of the fold that had not been acted upon by the first pairs of dies; and it will be observed that as f f are pressed "ether their inclined edges act to open the ctions AB, and that the dies ff 10 as would be the case it all the dies came up together.

The cams 0, that act upon the pairs of dies f f of A B, are so shaped that after the can has been pressed they act asecond time, to a In so doing they open the dies f f of O D to the position shown in Fig. 1, to liberate the can, and also insure the dies being in a correct position for the reception of the parts of the next can.

20 Any suitable device for holding the body Z 2 erated by a treadle, through the link to, to

force the plate 12 tightly upon the body of the can and hold said body correctly in position. When the foot is removed from the treadle the spring draws down the outer end of the 0 lever 20 and raises the plate 1; from the body of the can.

In consequence of moving the inner dies outwardly at the same time that the correspondin g outer dies are moved inwardly, the folded rim is pressed from opposite sides simultaneously, and there is nothing to bend the rim or can out of its proper shape, and the dies, when they open to relieve a finished can, are in a position to receive the parts of another can to be closed.

I claim as my invention- 1. In a machine for making sheet metal cans, the dies at a a a, andff f f, united to bars 0 c and d d, to form four pairs of dies, arranged as set forth, in combination with the actuating devices that move the opposite pairs of dies and close the folded flanges of the sheetmetal can, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination of the lever-arm w and clamp o, for retaining the sheet-metal body and the flanged head in their proper relative positions, with the pairs of dies a, a,a and a fj"f f conneeting-barsc c d d, and the mechanism for actuating the same, substantially as specified.

3. In a sheet-metal-can machine, the combination of dies to act outwardly within the folded rim with dies surrounding them to act inwardly, and mechanism for operating the pairs of dies and moving them simultaneously in opposite direction for compressing the folded rim, substantially as set forth.

Signed by me this 3d day of June, A. D. 1880.

WILLIAM H. BROOK. Witnesses GEO. T. PINGKNEY, WILLIAM G. Morrrr. 

